Grain-car door



J. E. DRAKE GRAIN CAR DOOR Filed Mar. 17, 1922 2 she ets-sheet 1 lllllllHlllll'llHl||||l l|lllll 2 nfi ,3 m

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WITNESSES lA/VE/VTOR A; fise nkfi flre BY I Z q A I ATTORNEYS Apr. 3, 1923. mwmz J. E. DRAKE GRAIN GAR DOOR Filed Mar. 17, 19.22 2 shgets sheet 2 rrow/m Patented Apr. 3, i923.

GRAIN-GAB. DOOR.

Application filed March 17, 1922. Serial No. 544,501.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, Josnri-i E. DRAKE, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Blue Rapids, in the county of Marshall and State of Kansas, have invented a new and Improved Grain-Car Door, of which the following is a description.

My invention has for its general object to provide an auxiliary grain car door to be employed beneath any approved main car door, said auxiliary door adapted to be de tachably secured at its ends to the sides of the door frame and provided with an opening controlled by a closure so that the aux iliary door while in position will permit the flow of grain or other bulk material and be bodily removable when suflicient of the material has run from the car.

The nature of the invention and its distinguishing features and characteristics will mor clearly appear as the description proceeds.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, it being understood that the drawings are merely illustrative of one example of the invention.

Figure 1 is an exterior view of a grain car door embodying my invention showing the same emplaced;

Figure 2 is a horizontal section on the line 2- 2. Figure 1, showing the auxiliary door in closed and fastened position;

Figure 3 is a transverse vertical section on the line 33, Figure 1;

Figure 4: is a longitudinal vertical section taken on the line 4- 1, Figure 3, and showing the inner side of the door;

Figure 5 is a view similar to Figure 2 but showing the closure of the auxiliary door swung away from the opening of said door and the sections of the latter flexed.

In carrying out my invention in accordance with the illustrated example my improved auxiliary door designated generally by the numeral has a width to be disposed in the usual door opening 11 of a car 12 to overlap the door frame, said auxiliary door being positioned at the bottom of the opening beneath the main door 13 of any approved construction.

Said auxiliary door includes two sections 14 contacting at their opposed ends and a closure 15 for the space between said sec tions, said closure 15 being hinged as at 15 to one section 14 and adapted to overlap the other section when the sections are alined. The sections 14: at their opposed ends have respectively upper and lower hinge bases integral with the section l t to which are secured hinge members 16 rigid therewith and connected by hinge pins 17 so that the door may break or flex outwardly at the center.

The auxiliary door 10 is adapted to be temporarily secured in position by nailing the ends thereof to the door frame, and with that end in view nail plates 19 are applied to the sections 14: at their outer ends at the inner sides of said sections. Said plates 19 have upper and lower horizontal series of nail holes 20, there being four in the form shown and the holes of the upper and lower series aline vertically or approximately aline, the purpose being to provide for driving nails 21 through any given alined holes according to the width of the doorway.

In order to lock the auxiliary door with the sections 1 1 alined and the closure 15 swung to the closed position between the said sections, I provide a lock bar 22 of a length to extend horizontally across the closure 15 and overlap the sections 1 1. Said bar is swingably secured at one end as by a U-bolt 23 which passes through one door section 14 and through reinforcing plates 24 applied to said section at the inner and outer surfaces thereof. At the opposite end. the lock bar 22 is adapted to be held by a latch 25 hinged as at 26 to the opposite door section. The bar 22 is U-shaped or channeled in cross section and accommodates in the channel the latch 25. A sliding keeper 27 on the lock bar 22 is adapted to be slipped over the latch 25 when the latter is in the latching position against the bar 22.

With an auxiliary door constructed as described the same is placed in position in the doorway at the bottom and secured by nails 21. When the grain or other bulk material is to be discharged the loclr bar 22 is,-released and the closure 15 is swung on its hinge to the open position to permit the material to flow outwardly between the door sections 14. The auxiliary door 11 is removed bodily when sui'iicient material has run from the car to relieve said. door of pressure the removal being effected by flexing the door at its hinge 17, the nails 21 being pulled by the straining of the door sections 1a or the nails may be otherwise removed.

The auxiliary door 10 is bevelled at the 2 reac es lower edge as at 10 and at the upper edge as at 10, the lower bevel engaging the sill plate 12 provided on the car 12 ofthe door opening'll as usual, and the upper bevel being presented to the lower edge of the embodiment of my invention, I do not limit myself strictly to the exact details herein illustrated, since, manift'estly, the same can be considerably varied without departure from the spirit of the invention as defined iuvthe appended claims.

7 Having thus described my invention, I

"claim:-

1. An auxiliary grain car door including sections hinged together and presenting an opening between the opposed ends of said sections, a closure for said opening swing- "ably mounted on one section, a lock bar U- sh'aped in cross section secured to one section and adapted to overlie the outer face of said closure to lock the same in place, said lock bar serving also to hold the sections and the closure in alignment and securing means on the other section for the opposite end of said [lock bar, said securing means comprising a pivoted latch adapted to he over the free endof said lock bar and a sliding keeper to engage boththe end of the'bar and the latch.

2. An auxiliary grain car door including sections hinged together and presenting an opening between the opposed ends or said sections, a closure for said opening swingably mounted on one section, a lock bar secured to one section normally extending over the outer face of said closure and presenting a channel, a swingable latch on the other section accommodated in said channel when the lock bar is in locking position, and a slidable keeper on the lock bar adapted to engage said latch, said lock bar being adapted to hold the sections and the closure in alinement. c

3. An auxiliary grain car door including sections hinged together and presenting an opening between the opposed ends oi said sections, a closure for said opening swingably mounted on one section, a lock bar secured to one section, said lock bar normally extending over the outer face of the sections and the closure'to lock the same together, a swingable latch on the other section, and means to hold said latch in the latching position in engagement With the lock bar.

1. An auxiliary grain car door adapted to be detachably secured at its ends in a door opening to permit of being bodily removed, said door including sections hinged together and presenting an opening therebetween, and a closure for said opening mounted on one of said sections and movable to closed or openposition independently of the sections, said closure extending at the top above said sections to overlap the main car door.

JOSEPH EVERETT DRAKE. 

